


Contumacem

by starlightened



Series: Contumacem [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Cute, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2017-02-28
Packaged: 2018-09-27 10:05:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10004606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightened/pseuds/starlightened
Summary: In which Noctis heads to the neighbouring kingdom of Contumacem to meet with their young queen, and suddenly finds himself infatuated. But she does not make it easy.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a request I got on tumblr. I loved this one so much, and Tamsin is one of my favourite OCs!
> 
> Follow my FFXV writing blog at nifwrites.tumblr.com :)

Noctis was in the back seat of Ignis’ car, his head leaned against the window. He sighed heavily. King Regis had sent Noctis, Ignis, Gladio and Prompto to a neighbouring kingdom for a short trip, sort of as an act of good will, to a neighbouring kingdom not too far from Insomnia. It was called Contumacem, and according to Ignis, it was ruled by a young queen, not much older than Noctis.

“Apparently she’s quite lovely,” Ignis noted from the driver’s seat, glancing at Noctis in the rearview mirror. “I wouldn’t be surprised if His Majesty sent you to meet her as a way of joining our two kingdoms sometime in the near future.”

“Fat chance,” Noctis yawned, stretching out his arms. He almost hit Gladio in the face, who swatted his hand away. “Let’s just get this over with. He told me it was a good will visit. We just have to meet the queen, play nice, and go home.”

“What’s her name again?” Gladio asked, looking out at the landscape that rolled by.

“Queen Tamsin,” Ignis replied, making a left turn at a fork in the road. “She’s supposed to be somewhere around your age. Remarkable that she’s so young and able to run an entire kingdom. I wonder what circumstances made it so that she would have to assume the crown so early on in her life.”

“It’d be impolite to ask, I’m guessing?” Noctis asked, clearly bored.

“Decidedly so.”

A comfortable silence settled over the car as they continued to drive. After a while, the city skyline of Contumacem came into view.

“Wow!” Prompto exclaimed, rising in his seat to get a better look, to Ignis’ dismay. “It’s huge!”

“Almost as big as Insomnia,” Gladio agreed. “How much longer till we get to the palace?”

“It’s not far,” Ignis answered. “The palace is that large building in the centre of the city. It seems the layout of Contumacem is quite similar to our own Crown City. We should be arriving shortly.” He glanced at Noctis in the back seat, who looked decidedly disinterested. “It would do his Highness well to assume a more…appropriate facial expression upon meeting the young queen.”

“Yeah,” Gladio elbowed him, and Noctis hissed. “Don’t wanna give your future wife a bad first impression.”

Noctis glared. “She’s not going to be my future wife.”

When they finally arrived at the palace, Noctis and the others were greeted by the the queen’s guards. A few of them took their bags up to their rooms in the neighbouring tower where they were staying, and a few others led them up the marble stairs to the interior of the castle.

It was quite lavish—marble columns lined the walls, and the vaulted ceilings had paintings of Contumacian folklore. The paintings themselves were intensely intricate, and Noctis found himself growing dizzy from staring up at them so intently.

Gladio smacked him on the back and it jolted him forward, and Noctis followed the others into the throne room.

The large, heavy doors were pulled open, revealing a long, red carpet towards a golden throne at the end of the room. The back of the chair was tall and ornate, with gold filigree creating what looked almost like a floral halo around the woman seated there.

Noctis gulped. She was… _beautiful._

Queen Tamsin definitely looked her age. Her skin was smooth and dark, the colour of Ebony with just a hint of cream. Her black hair was pulled back into a severe bun, and she wore a grown of golden roses with crystals that dangled down near her face. Her dress was the colour of ivory, fitting in loose drapes around her body with gold accents along the shoulders and belt. The only word that Noctis could think of to fit her was opulent.

Her eyes were an unusual shade of green, almost clear, and her plump lips were pulled into a straight line. Her eyebrow cocked as Noctis and his friends approached, and she definitely did not seem too impressed.

“Your Majesty,” Noctis greeted with a deep bow, turning on what Prompto had dubbed his ‘Royal Voice’. “I am Noctis Lucis Caelum of Insomnia. These are my escorts, Ignis Scientia, Gladiolus Amicitia, and Prompto Argentum. We thank you for your hospitality. It is an honour to meet you.”

He looked up, and Tamsin looked…almost bored. But, she straightened her back and assumed royal posture as well.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, your Highness,” she answered in time. “Please feel free to make yourself at home for the duration of your stay.” Then she abruptly got up, gave a small curtsy, and left the room with her guards trailing after her. Noctis looked shocked, and turned to Ignis.

He too looked somewhat stunned. “Well, perhaps this is part of their regular greeting protocol.”

“I dunno,” Gladio said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Didn’t seem like her Royalness was too impressed.”

“Do we smell?” Prompto asked, sniffing at his armpits, then at his shirt. Ignis rolled his eyes as Prompto huffed. Just then, one of the guards came up to Noctis and bowed.

“Your Highness,” the guard said, standing up straight once more. “Queen Tamsin has asked you to join her for a tour of the palace gardens.” He glanced from Noctis to the others. “Alone.”

Prompto turned to Gladio, whispering loudly, “Do you think she’s going to murder him?”

Gladio smacked the back of his head.

Noctis gulped and followed the guard out of the same door to the side of the throne room with which Tamsin had made her hasty escape.

The garden was enormous. There was a hedge maze towards the back, and the pathways around it were lined with bushes that grew yellow and white roses. Noctis saw Tamsin standing by one bush, plucking one up and examining it in her hand. She turned to him with a nod, and shooed her guard away, then gestured for Noctis to walk with her.

It was a little awkward. Noctis could tell by her body language that she was disinterested, and he could very well say the same. But he sucked up his pride and tried to play nice.

“So, nice palace—”

“I know why you’re here,” she interrupted, glancing over at him. She twirled the stem of the rose in between her fingers.

Noctis’ steps stuttered momentarily. “Uh, yeah, for a good will visit…?”

“I know your father wants to join our kingdoms in order to better defend your Insomnia against Niflheim,” she continued. “And just so you know, it’s not that I’m not interested, it’s just that I don’t want my kingdom to be used as a pawn for your father’s larger plan.”

Noctis stopped dead in his tracks. “Wait, what?”

Tamsin turned, and placed a hand on her shapely hip. “What part did you miss?”

“You’re…interested? In what? In _me?”_

Tamsin laughed, a melodious sound that made Noctis embarrassed at how his heart rate picked up. “Look,” she approached him, and he fought the instinct to take a step back.

She was just so regal, more regal that he could have ever hoped to come across, and her eyes were so striking as they bore into his. She was actually quite short, a few inches shorter than him, but the way she carried herself made her seem as if she was ten feet tall.

“I think you’re cute. And maybe under other circumstances, I’d be willing to test out the waters. But I can’t play games with you while the Empire is trying to take over one kingdom after the next. I won’t put my people in danger because you bat your baby blues at me. Alright?”

Noctis was speechless. Finally, he lamely blurted, “I think you’re really pretty.”

Tamsin laughed again, and shook her head. “Your friends are probably waiting for you back in the lobby. I’ll have one of my guards escort you to your rooms. I know you’re here for about a week, so I’ll show you guys around a little bit. But don’t get too comfortable.” She snapped her fingers and her guards appeared at her side. She looked Noctis up and down and curtsied again with a smirk. “Have a good evening, Prince Noctis.”

Noctis dumbly bowed and scurried away back to the throne room, the guards in tow.

When he and the others got to the rooms in which they’d be spending the week, Prompto asked, “So, what did she say, huh? She sure is beautiful. Do you think they wear white and gold here the same way we wear black back home?”

“It’s most likely part of their culture and tradition, yes,” Ignis agreed, sliding his glasses further up his nose. “But yes, Noct, what did Queen Tamsin say to you while you were walking with her? You weren’t gone for long, but you do look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

Noctis blinked a few times, unsure of what to say. “I said she was pretty,” he finally groaned, collapsing face-first onto the couch. “Why did I say that?”

“Because you have no game,” Gladio confirmed, patting him on the back. “Should make for an interesting trip.”

Noctis lifted his head. “To be fair, she did also say that she was interested in me.”

“What?!” Prompto exclaimed. “Oh, man. This is better than reality television.”

“Like I said,” Gladio smirked. “Should make for a _very_ interesting trip.”

Ignis nodded and moved towards the kitchen. “Indeed. In any case, let’s have something to eat before Noctis decides that death by starvation is the best way to deal with his embarrassment.”

_______________

The week went on rather smoothly. Tamsin, outside of the palace, was actually a lot of fun. She was vivacious and snarky with a quick wit, and often left Noctis a bit of a stuttering mess. But she was also stubborn to a fault and definitely playing hard to get. Gladio noted to Noctis that if he was planning something, that he ought to do it soon, before they left the next day.

Noctis didn’t really know what to do. He liked Tamsin, more than he was willing to admit. But he could also tell that she was putting up a front in order to make herself seem unapproachable. He noticed little things about her in the time he spent with her that week—how she liked to hide her face behind her hair when she wore it down rather than in a bun, how she gently chewed at her lip when she was nervous or uncomfortable and how she hummed idly to herself, but then would abruptly stop when she noticed he was listening.

She was infuriating and incredible all at once. He wanted to know her better, but he didn’t have enough time. Her flirtatious nature didn’t help either, and he didn’t want to admit that he fell asleep dreaming about her on more than one occasion.

On the last night before having to leave for home, Noctis asked Tamsin to go for a walk. She agreed, and they met in the royal garden just as the stars were starting to come out.

Tamsin led Noctis towards the maze at the far end of the garden. He followed her and they walked together in silence for a while. Noctis could tell that Tamsin knew where she was going, probably having traversed the labyrinth multiple times. He couldn’t stop looking at her, the way the moonlight reflected off her skin. Her hair was down and blew in the breeze. She looked like a moon goddess dressed in her royal outfit, something other worldly, as the trail of her white gown followed her every step.

“I like you,” he finally said, stopping when they got close to the centre of the maze.

“I know,” she replied, not looking at him.

Noctis groaned in frustration. “Why are you like this?” he half-demanded, placing a hand on her shoulder to make her look at him. “You’ve been doing this all week. I don’t know why you think it’s funny to play around with me like this, but—”

He was abruptly cut off by Tamsin’s lips on his and her hand coming to rest on his cheek. His eyes flew open wide momentarily before fluttering closed, leaning in to her kiss as she took a step closer. She tilted her head and deepened it as Noctis’ hands came to rest on her waist. She pulled away, too soon for Noctis’ liking, and sighed, looking down, once again hiding behind her hair.

“I meant what I said when I met you,” she told him, not stepping back or leaving any space between their bodies. “I like you, too, Noctis. But I don’t want to put my people in danger because your kingdom is at war with the Empire.”

“I don’t want you to have to make that decision,” he said quietly, tucking her hair behind her ear so he could see her face. She blushed and tried to look away, but his gaze held her there. “Why can’t we just…try this? We don’t have to make it a bigger deal than it needs to be.”

“Noctis,” Tamsin sighed, sounding so tired. “I’m the queen of Contumacem and you are the Chosen One by the Crystal and the next king. We can’t just… _date.”_ He went quiet, and rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. She did the same, but then tilted her head up to press gentle kisses against his lips. “I’d like to try,” she admitted. “I just don’t know how we can without it bringing up unwanted attention.”

“Me neither,” Noctis conceded, his shoulders slumped in defeat. “And of course we have to leave tomorrow morning.”

Tamsin looked up at him with doleful eyes. “Will you come back?”

Noctis grazed his thumb along her cheek, and smiled slightly at how she shivered at his touch. “Yeah. I’d like to.” Then, he added, “Or you could come to the Crown City. We can figure out a way. I just would like to see you again.”

She smiled a little, almost looking shy. “I’d like that.”

Noctis leaned back down and kissed her, initiating it for the first time. He pulled her flush against him and deepened it, his tongue tracing along her lower lip. She sighed quietly as his tongue caressed hers, her arms coming to loop around his neck.

They didn’t have much time left together before Noctis had to leave, but alone in the darkness of the maze, he did his best to make up for it. If he had to leave the next morning, he wanted his last night with Tamsin to be one that made her count down the days until he returned.


End file.
